The Culture of Translation in Anglo-Saxon England

209 Pages·2002·11.5 MB·English

by  Robert Stanton

THE CULTURE OF TRANSLATION
IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND
Robert Stanton
D. S. BREWER

THE CULTURE OF TRANSLATION
IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND
Translation was central to Old English literature as we know it, as most is
either translated or adapted from Latin sources, and this book - the first full-
length study of the topic - investigates Anglo-Saxon translation as a cultural
practice, integrating the Anglo-Saxon period more fully into the longer
history of English translation. This ‘culture of translation’ was characterised
by changing attitudes towards English: at first a necessary evil, it can be seen
to develop an increasing authority and sophistication. Its pedagogical
function (already visible in Latin and Old English glosses) flourished in the
centralising translation programme of the ninth-century translator king
Alfred; English translations of the Bible further confirmed the respectability
of English; and Adfric’s late tenth-century translation theory transformed
principles of Latin composition into a new and vigorous language for English
preaching and teaching texts.
Robert Stanton is Associate Professor of English, Boston College,
Massachusetts.
© Robert Stanton 2002
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 2002
D. S. Brewer, Cambridge
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604-^126, USA
website: www.boydell.co.uk
ISBN 0 85991 643 X
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stanton, Robert, 1961—
The culture of translation in Anglo-Saxon England / Robert Stanton,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-85991-643-X (alk. paper)
1. English literature - Old English, ca. 450-1100 - History and criticism.
2. Latin literature - Translations into English (Old) - History and criticism.
3. Latin language - Translating into English - History - To 1500.
4. Translating and interpreting - England - History - To 1500. 5. English
language - Old English, ca. 450-1100 - Style. 6. Literature, Comparative -
Latin and English (Old) 7. Literature, Comparative - English (Old) and
Latin. 8. England - Intellectual life - To 1066. I. Title.
PR133.S73 2002
829.09-dc21 2002003429
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Typeset by Joshua Associates Ltd, Oxford
Printed in Great Britain by
St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Contents
List of Illustrations vi
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
1 Interpretation, Pedagogy, and Anglo-Saxon Glosses 9
2 King Alfred and Early English Translation 55
3 Bible Translation and the Anxiety of Authority 101
4 2Elfric and the Rhetoric of Translation 144
Conclusion 172
Bibliography 176
Index 193
List of Illustrations
1 Cambridge, University Library, Gg.5.35 (mid eleventh century,
St Augustine’s Canterbury), fol. 406r 17
2 London, British Library, Harley 3271 (early eleventh century),
fol. 115v 32
3 London, British Library Arundel 60 (“Arundel Psalter”, second
half of the eleventh century, Winchester, New Minster), fol. 13v 38
4 Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 27 (“Junius Psalter”, first half
of the eleventh-century gloss, Winchester), fol. lOv 39
5 London, British Library, Royal 2.B.5 (“Regius Psalter”, mid­
tenth-century gloss, Worcester or Winchester), fol. 8r 40
6 Salisbury, Cathedral Library 150 (“Salisbury Psalter”, eleventh/
twelfth-century gloss, Salisbury), fol. 12v 41
7 Cambridge, University Library Ff.1.23 (“Cambridge Psalter”,
mid eleventh century, Winchcombe), fol. 26v 42
8 London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D.12 (mid eleventh
century, Christ Church Canterbury?), fol. 12v 43
9 London, British Library, Cotton Nero D.4 (“Lindisfarne
Gospels”, gloss between 950 and 970), fol. 29r 51
Acknowledgements
It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to the people who have helped make
this book possible. I would first like to thank the Huntington Library for its
generous support through the Barbara Thom Postdoctoral Fellowship,
during which a large portion of the book was written. Robert Ritchie, the
staff at the Huntington, and my fellow Fellows (particularly Helen Deutsch
and Edward Gray) all made it a productive and rewarding experience.
Many thanks also to Rita Copeland, Roberta Frank, Allen Frantzen, and
David Townsend for making the fellowship possible.
I am deeply grateful to Boston College for providing several research
grants and a Faculty Fellowship, which both provided time to write the
book and contributed towards the incidental costs of publishing it. Through
the Graduate School of Arts and Science, BC has also provided direct
financial support for publication. At the Dictionary of Old English at the
University of Toronto, a peerless manuscript microfilm collection and an
excellent research library saved many hours of pacing library aisles; the
affectionate camaraderie of my good friends and former colleagues there
have always made me feel personally and professionally at home.
My friends and colleagues at Boston College have shown strong,
consistent support for this and other projects; I am indebted to Raymond
Biggar, Rosemarie Bodenheimer, Amy Boesky, Alexandra Chasin, Robert
Chibka, Anne Fleche, Elizabeth Graver, Dayton Haskin, Paul Lewis, John
Mahoney, Alan Richardson, Richard Schrader, Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks,
James Smith, Andrew Sofer, Laura Tanner, Lad Tobin, Christopher
Wilson, Judith Wilt, and many others for their encouragement and advice
at every stage. I feel the highest gratitude to Mary Crane and Robin
Fleming, whose strong and practical support has, beyond measure,
helped bring the project to fruition. For reading and commenting on
drafts and sections of the work, I would like to thank Kathleen Davis,
Anne Fleche, Edward Gray, Gabriele Knappe, Haruko Momma, David
Townsend, and several anonymous readers, none of whom is of course
responsible for any errors that remain. Finally I am deeply indebted to
Margaret Sinex for her patience, support, and intellectual companionship.
for Alice, Gemma, and Margaret
Abbreviations
Works frequently cited in the notes have been identified by the following
abbreviations.
ASE Anglo-Saxon England
CCSL Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina. Turnhout: Brepols, 1949—
CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. Vienna:
Hoelder, Pichler, Tempsky, 1866—
EETS Early English Text Society (o.s.: original series; s.s.: supplement­
ary series; e.s.: extra series)
MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica
PL Patrologia Latina. Ed. J.-P. Migne. 221 vols. Paris: Gamier et
al., 1844-1905